Friday, October 30, 2009

This bracelet was a gift. I have never worn it . It is lovely but a little to big and just not quite as chunky as my usual tastes. It is much nicer than anything I would ever buy myself, and even personalized with an H. I decided that it was time to make it work!

I took some lengths of chain from my jewelry making supplies. I cut them shorter then the existing bracelet so that I could solve the 'too big' problem and chunk the chain up at the same time. (I didn't end up using the shiny yellow gold chain. I was just the wrong color for this piece.)

I rounded up a bunch of charms that I had collected from the clearance jewelery at Target over the last few months.

I staggered them on the different chains and even attached some of them to two chains at once.

And the outcome. A totally "my-style" bracelet that I will wear over and over again. The original bracelet had such good bones that I had to stop letting it go to waste.

And........................Teacher Presents.....................

Got these cute Halloween beads at JoAnn's. Hollowed out the holes in the beads to make them a little bit larger with my dremmel. Strung them on beaded chains. Soo Easy!! Have I mentioned recently how much I really ADMIRE teachers? I think that they deserve a little something for every occasion!!!

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Sometimes searching for the right frames can be such a chore!! Especially when you want half a dozen of them that match. And,...the store doesn't have any white ones!!

....wait, what's up with that?? Last season when I wanted mahogany all that they had was white!!!

Besides that,........frames can be expensive. So why not just use canvas??

Especially when you have a 50% off Jo Ann's Fabric and Craft coupon and the canvases are on sale anyway.!?.

I was actually really afraid to do this project for fear of ruining my photos. (Which is pretty silly since Costco is like the least expensive place on the planet to have photos printed.)

None-the-less,...afraid I was! So I put it off for a while. Then I realized that if I didn't use these photos soon they would be so out-dated that I would need to have new ones taken.

So I dove in.

I used a large sponge paintbrush so that it wouldn't leave bristles behind. I literally poured the Mod Podge right onto the canvas so that I could spread it around before it started to dry. Then I eyeballed the photo and tried to center it.

Remember,...perfect is over-rated!!

I did not Mod Podge over the picture. There was no need. It affixed very well with no curling up of corners or bubbling. I did however go over the exposed Mod Podge left around the edges with a semi gloss polyurethane since it tends to remain the teeniest bit sticky and collect astronomical amounts of dust.:(

Voila,...I think I even prefer these to frames. (Especially since I live in major Earthquake territory and these are going right above my girls bed.)

I am in the process of redecorating their room and I will post pictures when it is all done

Wendy (my big sis) sells them in her etsy store. So yes,...you can have some too............

they are darling and I am going to wear them on everything! (my sweaters, my bags, my hair...).

I ate a candy bar without guilt. (The guilt may come later, but for now........none.)

My daughter who has an auditory processing delay is making progress and remembered two more letters in her alphabet today then she did just yesterday. (Hazzah for baby steps.)

I am nesting. (No,...not expecting!!) Just nesting. Have managed to clean and organize both of my boys bedroom and picked out three paint colors for other parts of the house. (I am soo over my main floor dark red powder room!)

I can smell autumn and feel alive with craftiness.

Made sugar cookies...........and plan to eat them too.

In an effort to de-clutter I decided to throw out some old magazines.

................ended up daydreaming over many dog eared pages instead.

Am I the only one who actually sticks file folder tabs to pages of magazines.

...........couldn't throw them out.

But,...discovered new inspiration in the pages of May 2006 Mary Engelbreit's Home companion.

Isn't she wonderful??

No, not the cat,...the dress form. (although the cat is equally wonderful.:))

Monday, October 19, 2009

I found this cute little project in a box set at Target about a year ago, and finally got around to assembling it. It was so simple that anyone could do it at home, so I thought I would share.............

It came with a long thick piece of ribbon (any size you want).

Two o rings........

3 metal frames ( use card stock, or no frames for that matter).....

3 metal clips.....(I am going to buy more and add them later.)

And, it came with a ribbon bundle. Each piece was approx 24", because I cut them into fourths and they were approx 6" each.

You just tie the o rings to the ends..............

.......and start tying your 6 inch pieces of ribbon to the large piece. I am also going to go back in and add more ribbon to make it more ragamuffin.

Loop your ribbon through the hole in the metal clips to tie them onto the large piece.

Then you can clip whatever you wish to the clip.

I thought that I would hang it in my girls room, but now I think I may have to use it in my office to clip ideas to. (My magnet and cork boards are full.) A girl can never have too much idea storage, right??

Although,...it looks really cute with my daughters art on it also! What to do?????????????

Thursday, October 15, 2009

It is Frugal Friday over at the Shabby Nest, and this is my thrifty contribution.....................

I have this funny little old cabinet that holds shoes, but it has cute doors. So when one of the doors fell off I couldn't bring myself to throw it away.

What does one do with a door??

First I sanded it down so that I could paint it.

Then I white washed it. It took two coats of regular old bottled acrylic from the craft store. Then I sanded it down again so that it would look distressed.

Then I took a stamp and stamped it with brown oxide paint.

I did not try to make it perfect at all.

Perfect is overrated..........................................................

plus I planned to sand and fade the stamped sections anyway.

I bought a 9 pack of bronze 1-1/4" cup hooks from Target.

I screwed them into some of the stamped spots. I may go back and add more later.

I tied a brown ribbon on the knob................................................

just for fun.

I used a staple gun to fasten two pieces of brown ribbon to the back top to hang it from. Then I hung it in a sooo not glamorous wall in my closet. (A little anti-climactic, right?) But,...I know that it is there and it looks cute.

I love a good re purpose!! Now,...What ever will I do with the other door?

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

It starts like a whisper and then slowly takes over all of your senses. My house smells of pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and every corner reflects warm tawny shades of browns, oranges, and greens. I love the beginning of the holiday season.

This past weekend I decorated. and.....Then I decorated some more.

This is my favorite find as of late............two metal wire picture 'pedestals' that I ordered on line from Tender Heart Treasures. I was planning to put black and white photos in them. Still am. But they looked so cute on my mantle that I had to use them for the holidays as well. I found some printable vintage Halloween postcards on line and put them in the 'frames'.